UNISON’s Retired Members Self-Organised Group Committee has agreed to hold a National Retired Members Conference Self-Organised Group Conference starting at 12 noon Tuesday 13th October, and finishing 4pm Wednesday 14th of October 2026.
We have now opened the Online Conference System (OCS) to allow branches to register delegates and submit motions in line with the rule-book requirements.
Please note the deadline to submit motions on OCS is
12.00 pm on Friday, 12th June 2026.
UNISON’s National Retired Members Self-Organised Group Conference takes place over two days. All delegates and visitors may attend all sessions of conference but voting on motions is restricted to delegates only. Delegates should attend all sessions of Conference.
The conference bulletin will have further information on motion submission from the SOC and submission deadlines. The bulletin can be found and downloaded by scrolling down to the end of this page.
Delegates should contact their branch to be registered through the OCS.
Electing UNISON Retired member delegates to attend 2026 / 2027 self-organised group conferences.
UNISON rule D 7.8 allows for the National Retired Members’ Organisation to send two representatives to each of UNISON’s National Self-Organised Group Conferences.
The National Retired Members’ Committee on behalf of the National Retired Members’ Organisation is now seeking nominations for representatives to attend the following Self-Organised Group Conferences:
- 2026 UNISON National Disabled Members’ Conference being held in Brighton from 24 – 26 October.
- 2026 UNISON National LGBT+ Conference being held in Belfast from 13 – 15 November.
- 2027 UNISON National Women’s Conference being held in Brighton from 18 – 20 February.
- 2027 UNISON National Black Members’ Conference being held in Edinburgh from 23 – 25 April.
Travel costs, expenses and accommodation will be met from national funds.
Disabled retired members, LGBT+ retired members, Black retired members and women retired members interested in attending are asked to nominate themselves by submitting a nomination statement of not more than 200 words by email to equalitynominations@unison.co.uk or by post to UNISON Retired Members Nominations, Equality Unit, UNISON Centre, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY to arrive no later than 5.00pm on Thursday 03 September 2026.
Nominations statements for all roles will be sent out to all delegates attending the 2026 Retired Members Conference.
Where there are more nominations than seats, elections will be held in the relevant caucus meetings at the UNISON National Retired Members’ Conference in Glasgow on Tuesday 13 October 2026.
Successful applicants will be advised no later than Friday 16 October 2026.
Registration and Enquiries
If you want to attend the conference, please contact your branch who can register you as a delegate or visitor on the Online Conference System (OCS). Once you are registered you will receive an email confirmation from OCS. Deadline for registration is Thursday 23 July 2026 at 12pm.
Use the link below to search for your branch details:
Travel Arrangements
Please consider the impact on the environment when making your decision on how to travel to Conference.
Branches are asked to book all travel arrangements for Conference through Stewart Corporate Travel via email at unison@stewarttravelmanagement.com or call 0800 091 4272. Please advise Stewart Corporate Travel if your delegates have railcards.
Branches are reminded that:
- Travel costs for Delegates only will be funded from National Office
- Travel costs for Visitors must be paid for by the branch. Please note that a booking fee is applicable – further details from Stewart Corporate Travel.
Driving is discouraged for conference unless delegates are travelling together or as a reasonable adjustment. Total reclaimable will be the cost of standard tickets or cost of car travel – whichever is the lesser.
All travel requests (including 1st Class Travel) as a reasonable adjustment must be reviewed and authorised by the Head of Conferences.
Request for first class travel and driving to conference should be made by 4pm Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Accommodation
Booking accommodation – please book any accommodation required with a reputable provider with a generous cancellation policy.
Please ensure that members have written confirmation of any booked and paid for accommodation.
Timetable
| Deadline for Submission of Motions | 12.00 noon | Friday 12 June 2026 |
| Deadline for Submission of Amendments to Standing Orders | 12.00 noon | Friday, 12 June 2026 |
| Publication of Preliminary Agenda | Tuesday, 14 July 2026 | |
| Deadline for Submission of Delegates | 12.00pm | Thursday, 23 July 2026 |
| Deadline for Submission of Amendments | 12.00 noon | Tuesday, 11 August 2026 |
| Deadline for Submission of reasonable adjustment requests for access | 4.00pm | Thursday, 06 August 2026 |
| Publication of Final Agenda | Tuesday, 15 September 2026 | |
| Deadline for receiving prioritisation forms | 12.00 noon | Friday, 25 September 2026 |
| Deadline for Submission of Emergency Motions | 12.00 noon | Friday, 25 September 2026 |
| Deadline for reasonable adjustment requests for travel | 12:00 pm | Tuesday, 22 September 2026 |
| Deadline for Submitting Change of Delegates online on the OCS | 11:59pm | Wednesday 07 October 2026 |
Personal Pronouns
It is now possible to add your personal pronouns to the online conference system so that they can appear on your credentials.
For information on how to do this, please visit the UNISON website, click on events, choose your conference and scroll to the documents at the bottom of the page and open “Personal pronouns in OCS – User guide”.
If you require help, please email the conference team, conferences@unison.co.uk or telephone, 0207 121 5123.
YoGA - Year of Green Activity
We’re doing our best to reduce the environmental impact of our conferences. We are providing all delegates with the chance to opt in of being sent paper copies of our conference materials as part of the delegates’ despatch. All of these documents will be available online, on the UNISON website and the UNISON Conferences App. You can then download them onto your laptop or tablet to view online while you are at conference. If you wish to opt in, please indicate this on the ‘My Requirements’ screen options on the Online Conference System (OCS). If you do not opt in, you will not be sent all documentation in hard copy form.
The opt in deadline is Tuesday 18 August 2026.